Michelle Visage admits she ‘got meaner over the years’ on Drag Race
Michelle Visage’s quick quip about a queen’s tuck never made it to air. (RuPaul’s Drag Race/YouTube)
Michelle Visage admitted her critiques have become “meaner over the years” on RuPaul’s Drag Race, but says her judging is “what is needed” for each queen.
Speaking to Jermaine Jenas on The One Show, Visage said: “I judge what is needed, what is fit for the situation.
“If they are indignant, or not learning, or belligerent, then I get a little tougher. If they understand and are open, then I’m kinder. It’s really about what I’m critiquing in the moment.”
Having judged on the show for ten years, Michelle Visage has previously come under fire for her devastating critiques.
She added: “It’s not them as a person because I don’t know them. I’ve never met them. I’ve not spent time with them.
“I’m literally critiquing the brief that they were given. Did they do it well? Are they listening? Are they open? The same way I parent my kids. I don’t know whether that’s good or bad.”
Michelle Visage is a judge on both the UK and US series that are currently airing. The final of Drag Race UK will air on BBC Three this Thursday (18 March).
She has also worked as a producer for the show since season 11, which won her a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Competition Program.
During 2016’s RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars season two, Visage received hate from Drag Race fans for her harsh critiques of Adore Delano. Michelle Visage received death threats for her judging, but told HuffPost “it comes with the territory”.
She added: “I 100 per cent stand by what I said… This is All Stars 2, so I’m absolutely taking no prisoners. This is the best of the best in the game.
“That doesn’t mean change who you are, that doesn’t mean be something you’re not, it means step up your game to the ultimate, at the very least for the first time you’re presenting.”
After the current series’ have ended, Michelle Visage will join RuPaul to judge Drag Race Down Under and All Stars 6. Both will air in 2021.
